[Statistics] [Candidate] [Hatchling] [Fledgling] [Adult]

Katazyna strode down the pathway, her bright orange hair springing and bouncing out of place. On her freckled face she wore a mischievous grin, dimples appearing on either cheek. On a slender shoulder sat a small emerald green firelizard, chittering happily in her friends ear, and getting tangled in the mass of hair. 

Curiosity, Raevyn asked quietly, her voice filled with curiosity. Katazyna grinned.

"We're going to find Storm," she answered of her second firelizard, a blue who had claimed to be 'fishing' for days now whenever called. Raevyn had been curiously unable to locate her companion.

More details, still curious, she asked, ever demanding.

"That’s what we’re gonna find out, silly green!" the 15-turn-old girl replied, giggling. The two walked on, silently now.

When they reached a small cove apart from the main beach near the Hold, Katazyna and her friend stopped and searched the shoreline for a big, grey-blue firelizard.

“STORM!! COME OUT HERE!!” Katazyna called through cupped hands. She paused, waiting for the blue to pop out from behind a dune, or out of a clump of seaweed as he usually did. She smiled, knowing that he would soon come out, hungry - lazy as he was, he wouldn't find his own food too often: Not if Kat was around.

As the sun reached its peak, Katazyna heard footsteps behind her and swivelled around to see two boys running down the beach. She grinned.

“Ziare! Cavanah! Over here!” She frantically waved her arms, trying to get their attention. 

The taller boy - Cavanah - turned his head to her and grinned, his dark complexion glowing in the sun, his black hair catching the light. He waved back, then nudged his brother hard in the ribs to get his attention. The two ran over to her, flopping down beside her and tickling the little emerald in turn. 

“Hiya, Zany! Looking for that blue of yours again?” Ziare asked, grinning impishly.

'Zany' nodded and mock sighed. “’Fraid so. He does like his secrets!” she laughed. 

The two boys nodded empathically, their eyes big and puppy-dog-like.

Ziare - the youngest of the three, by several turns - propped himself up on his elbows and looked out to sea. “I wish we had a boat,” he said suddenly. Cavanah and Katazyna turned and looked at him quizzically. “Wha'?” he said, suddenly defensive. "I mean, wouldn’ i’be great if we - all three of us - could just sail out there, and... just... sail!” His eyes glazed slightly while his hands illustrated his thoughts. 

Kat laughed, her dimples even more pronounced. “Where would we go? What would do?” 

Ziare seemed disillusioned by this point, and frowned in thought. “Well,” he said after a moment, “I s’pose we could go anywhere we felt like going! We could go to the Dawn Sisters!” 

At this, both Kat and Cavanah burst out laughing, rolling over themselves and each other, whumping the warm sand with hands and feet. 

Ziare managed to look hurt. “What? What is it, you guys?” 

Kat paused long enough to say, “You cant get to the Dawn Sisters by boat, numbskull! They're stars - up in the sky!” then she resumed cackling. 

Ziare looked as if he was about to cry, and ran off, away from his ‘friends’ laughing. 

“Gee, I s’pose I should go talk to him, Zany,” Cavanah sighed after a long moment.

Kat nodded. “Sure. Say sorry for me, too.” She grinned and waved at his back as he walked away.

Once more, Katazyna sat on the now-cooling sand, watching the clouds skid by above, and the waves lick the golden shore down below. 

She smiled, and then sighed in relief as suddenly a big dark grey-blue firelizard appeared from behind a sand dune. "Storm! Where have you been?" she asked him, both relived and exasperated. 

He managed to looked sorry for himself. Apology, he sent, head hung low. 

Kat laughed. He looked up, chirruped, and nuzzled her hand. This was promptly followed by, Hunger.

"How did I guess?"

Katazyna glanced out of her window and, as usual, saw Lyton. It seemed every time she went anywhere or did anything, he was there. But it was less the fact of seeing him, than that feeling whenever he came near. She’d never felt anything like that before. She thought it had something to do with the mating flight they'd shared recently, but it seemed the feelings came from within her, not from residual dragonlust.

Lyton was a candidate with Kat, and though they came from opposite ends of Pern, they had formed an instant friendship - and maybe something more? For almost a month now they had done everything from chores to midnight snacks together, and just a few days ago...

A queen dragon named Mykialyth has flown - her impending clutch was the one for which they had been Searched - and the sheer quantity of dragonlust produced by such a happening was enough to send an experienced dragonrider spare, let alone two developing adolescents left alone in the Barracks together. They hadn't slept together, as such, though they might as well have. Things had been only slightly awkward immediately afterwards, but now... It was as if the physical act had let loose the emotional landslide.

Lyton caught sight of her and waved. Instantly embarrassed for she knew not what, Katazyna pulled her head in and wandered into her room in the Barracks.

Zyara, her room-mate, looked up instantly, her eyes blurring with emotion. “I know that look. You’re either in love, or... well, there’s no or. I’m so happy!” She threw herself into her friend’s arms.

Katazyna shrugged away with a chuckle. “I’m not in love. Don’t be silly.”

Zya grinned and stared straight at her, eventually unnerving her. 

“What?!” Katazyna gasped.

“Oh, nothing.” So smug. “I just know who it is, is all.”

Katazyna rolled her eyes, suppressing a grin. For at that moment, she, too, knew who it was. Lyton. “Ok then, tell me this, O Wise One. What do I do?”

That was easy. “Tell him” was all she got as an answer before Zyara lolled on her bed and continued reading the hide she held. Katazyna could have screamed. She knew Zya well enough by now. She wasn't getting anything else from her.

Storming out of the Barracks, she plonked herself down onto the step and huffed. What was she going to do about this?

Then a little voice. “Katazyna? Can I sit down?”

NO!!! her mind screamed. “Hey, Lyton. Sure you can sit,” some voice that was not hers said calmly. She cursed herself, and just managed a warm smile as Lyton sat down beside her.

“Hi!” he said cheerfully, and completely relaxed. Katazyna cursed him while she was at it. The fact that he wasn’t effected at all by her presence made her feel even worse.

Lyton hadn’t stopped thinking about Katazyna since the flight. At first he had put it to dragonlust, but long after the flight had finished, the feelings had stayed put. Every time he even saw the girl, he would break out into a cold sweat and yammer on about nothing.

Determined to overcome this silly feeling, Lyton had wiped off his sweaty hands and stormed over to her.

Now, he sat, and silently ground his teeth. She was so unmoved! She didn't have any of the feelings he had. How embarrassing. **Well,** he thought, **No turning back now.** Opening the door confidently, he walked in and said, “Hi!” He was surprised at how calm and collected his voice sounded. He could feel his sweat pores working overtime, and was honestly surprised that Katazyna didn’t ear his heart thundering. Or at least she didn't let on.

There was instantly an uneasy silence. Katazyna finally spoke up, nervously. Nervously!! Lyton almost whooped for joy. She was nervous!

“Um, do you wanna go somewhere... or something?”

"No, this is good."

Katazyna, it turned out, was thinking the exact same thing as Ly. You know, the thing about the heart beats. She shook herself mentally.

Wake up, Katazyna! He doesn't like you. Not like that anyway. Grow up!

Lyton took in a deep breath and...

Katazyna took in a deep breath and...

“You know...”
“We could...”

“You go...”
“Oh, sorry...”

“Kat...”
“Ly...”

They both fell silent waiting for the other to speak first. Lyton finally mumbled something like, “Kat, since the flight, I... um... haven’t been... that is, well, I...” he didn't go any further because his adversary was nodding vigorously.

Me too! I don’t know if it’s just dragonlust or...” She knew what he meant!

“Oh. It’s not!” He seemed so certain.

Katazyna seemed pleased by that. She finally mustered up all her courage, and... “You wanna go get something to eat?”

Lyton readily agreed, and as they rose, he managed to slip his hand into hers. With a sidewards glance, Katazyna grinned and held onto him tightly.

Katazyna sat comfortably with Zyara, gazing at the shimmering blue-green of the lagoon before them. It wasn't too far from the Weyr, but seemed relatively unfrequented.

It was the perfect day, Katazyna thought blissfully. She turned to Zya. "Wanna get wet?" Before the other girl could answer, Kat vaulted from the rock on which they sat and ran straight towards the velvety water, diving in a split second before Zyara. Floating to the top of the surprisingly deep lake, Katazyna laughed as Zyara did a few turns and tumbles, then joined her at the surface.

“It’s beautiful here, heart,” she told her happily.

“I know.” Zyara spread out on her back, arms fanning out beside her like angels' wings.

It seemed a long time before Katazyna returned from the pleasant semi-dream-state she had fallen into, but it was to the sounds of squawks and shrieks nearby. Zyara’s belly rumbled audibly. Curiously, Kat raised her head to see where the raucous was coming from, and was surprised to see tens of firelizards all flocking on the warm sands of the beach. Frowning, she clambered onto a smooth-surfaced rock poking out of the water to get a better view of what the flits were so interested in, but as she stood on tiptoes she slipped bodily off the smooth and rather slippery rock.

“Aaaaah!” she screamed, landing with a huge splash into the water. The noise must have frightened the firelizards for, as one, they disappeared.

Katazyna scolded herself for making such a commotion, but nevertheless hoped that there was something left of what they were flocking around. Swimming stealthily towards the shore - which seemed to have gotten further away during her dozing - she finally felt gritty sand beneath her groping feet. Standing to her full height - which was not very high - she gasped out loud.

She ran then, not caring about the sharp shells that cut into her feet, nor the pebbles that bruised her delicate skin. As she reached the small mound in the sand, she could do nothing but stop herself from retching. 

A firelizard nest; or what was left of one. Seven eggs lay in the still warm sand, five of them had been smashed so much that they were hardly recognisable, and one of the two left was badly damaged. Katazyna felt hot tears fill her eyes and trickle down her fair, freckled cheeks as she fell onto her knees before the horror. How could they do this? She thought, suddenly full of hatred for the heartless creatures. How could they?

She lifted the single egg that had not been destroyed away from it’s sibling eggs that would never hatch. It was very hard, very near to hatching. Glancing at the egg that was badly damaged, but not mutilated as the others were, she gently lifted that one, too, and placed it hopefully beside the other. Seven eggs. It must have been a queen's clutch. She thought to herself. Those savages. Some part of her wondered what had happened to the dam of this clutch - why had she left it alone?

Hot tears of rage still flowing down her cheeks, Katazyna buried the remaining eggs under a deep layer of warm sand; hiding them away from those horrible, horrible firelizards should they return. The two that had been spared, she moved to another nest, which she then sat by until the sun had set. Her tears had long since dried up now, but the anger at those firelizards could not dry up so fast. She didn't know they could be so malicious.

“Why are you so sad?” the sweet voice of Zyara penetrated her reverie. Katazyna smiled at her sadly.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you,” she apologised for waking the girl. Zyara had refused to leave her friend after seeing what had happened, but had dropped into sleep a few candlemarks earlier.

“Disturb me? Don't be silly. Tell me what’s wrong. Are you still thinking about the attack?”

"I guess. It was just so... so nasty. I didn't know..." Suddenly her sadness rekindled her anger. "I hope they die. All of them! I never want to see another firelizard ever again!"

“Never? Not even Storm or Raevyn?” Zyara asked.

“Not now,” Katazyna said savagely, then took in a deep breath as she remembered all the happy times she had spent with her friends. “Alright, maybe them, but only them, because I know them.” 

Zyara smiled and put an arm around Kat's shoulder. “I will always love you. So will they.” Katazyna hugged the sweet girl tight and closed her eyes against the tears that threatened.

They slept together on that beach that night, huddled in each other's arms. Not caring about the reprimand they would receive on returning to the Barracks. The Headwoman would just have to accept that they could look after themselves.

As the first rays of light crept over the lake the next morning, Katazyna opened her eyes groggily. The raised dune where they had slept had a wonderful view over the lake, and with the first day’s light shining on it, the water appeared crystal clear and silkily luxurious. Waking Zyara gently, the little red-head suggested they go for an early morning swim, and her friend readily agreed.

The water was freezing cold from the night air, but Katazyna did not care. Diving in and out of the refreshing water, she felt as if she were a carefree child again. A child, back home with her large family. A child with no worries in the world.

“C'mon, you'll get sick if you swim in that freezing water much longer!" Zyara called from her sun-drenched spot on the beach.

Katazyna giggled and waded out of the chilled water. Flopping down on the golden sand, she grinned.

“Oh Zya, why cant it always be like this?”

“Why cant it?” Zyara asked smugly. Swatting her friend playfully, Katazyna relaxed fully on the warmed sand. When her eyelids began to droop once more and she found herself giving in to the relentless tugging into sleep, the sound of firelizards roused her. They couldn't be back! Not while she was watching those eggs so carefully!

Jumping up, Katazyna ran towards the makeshift nest she had built for the two remaining eggs. As soon as she was close enough to see details, she stopped. It couldn't be. The undamaged egg had been cracked open, though the other must have been considered ruined enough. Angrily pushing back tears, Katazyna stumbled towards the nest and fell to her knees before it. No sign of the firelizards remained, but this seemed to please her. Surely those horrible creatures couldn't have stolen every piece of her firelizards - for she had begun to think of them as hers - leaving only the shells. She frowned.

Curiosity, love, hope, came the soft thoughts in her head. 

Katazyna jumped. “Hullo? Is anyone there?” She asked, suddenly irrationally scared. 

Noiselessly, a tiny brown firelizard, his hide still wet with birthing goo and rumpled from being inside an egg all his short life, half flew, half stumbled out from behind a bush, his wings held out to dry. 

Katazyna gasped out loud in surprise at the appearance of the baby flitter. So it had not been the horrible ones that had stolen his body. It had been nature.

The tiny brown hopped up to Katazyna and nuzzled her hands thankfully, lovingly. 

She couldn't help but weep in relief. “Oh my little darling, how I worried about you.” She found herself saying. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again!” She walked back to where Zyara had awoken, with the newly named Imp in her arms. “Look, Zya! Look!” she yelled. 

Zyara raised her head and looked on, eyes practically glowing with amusement - and happiness. “Not long ago you were saying you didn't ever want to lay eyes on another firelizard and now look at you!” she chuckled. 

Katazyna grinned back at her, then ran her eyes over her newest companion.

Storm and Raevyn appeared out of the sky. The pair made affectionate cooing noises to welcome the newest baby, and landed on their owner’s shoulders. Swathed in firelizards, Katazyna found herself the happiest she had been in a long time.